Aston Villa v QPR: Sherwood aiming for breathing room

Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood is relishing his side's vital Premier League clash with QPR after being encouraged by their performance in defeat at Manchester United.

Villa slipped to a 3-1 loss at Old Trafford on Saturday, and sit just three points above 18th-placed QPR with seven games to play.

They welcome QPR - whose own prospects of avoiding the drop were boosted by a 4-1 win at West Brom at the weekend - to Villa Park on Tuesday, and Sherwood believes his team will bounce back from their disappointment at United.

"I saw a lot there. I was encouraged a lot," Sherwood told Villa's official website. "A lot of the guys have been away internationally and played two 90-minute games. They gave me everything. I can't ask for more than that.

"They left nothing on the pitch. But Man United were too good for us.

"It's a massive game [against QPR] for us. They got a good win [at West Brom]. It was a great result for them.

"But we're aiming to put six points between us and them by the end of that game."

Sherwood is likely to be without Scott Sinclair and Ashley Westwood (both hamstring), who look set to join Philippe Senderos (calf), Alan Hutton (ankle), Kieran Richardson and Aly Cissokho on the sidelines.

QPR could be without striker Eduardo Vargas - scorer of the opening goal at West Brom - due to a knee injury suffered on Saturday. Leroy Fer and Richard Dunne (both knee) remain unavailable.

The excellent performance at The Hawthorns gave Chris Ramsey's QPR their first win since February and put them within a point of safety.

Ramsey is sure to view the trip to Villa as another winnable game, and centre-back Nedum Onuoha is aware of the importance of picking up another positive result in the Midlands.

"We're at that stage now when each game is massive," Onouha told QPR's official website. "We know there are no second chances now.

"We've never been low on confidence, but to win a game in that style will do wonders for us."